Monday, August 29, 2011

Witchlanders Blog Tour: Interview with Ryder

As part of the blog tour for Witchlanders by Lena Coakley, I have the pleasure of having Ryder, one of the characters from the book, here on the blog answering a few questions. Be sure to also check out the giveaway for a chance to win a Kindle 3. But without further adieu, here is what Ryder had to say!

Where does your hatred of witches and what they believe in come from?

I don’t know that I hate witches. After all, I have a lot of relatives up there in the covens. By all accounts my grandfather, who was a witch, was a good man. But it just irks me the way everyone in our village bows down to coven dwellers as if they have the ear of the goddess herself. And they don’t do any work for it! Since my father died, my sister and I have had the running of our farm, and I can tell you, growing hicca in this rocky soil isn’t easy. And then the witches come along and take one quarter of it for their tithe—one quarter! If they could really tell the future as they claimed—if they could really protect us from our enemies—then maybe I’d think they deserved it. But you have to understand, until recently I’d never seen anything to make me believe magic really existed in the world. I thought that some witches might have convinced themselves they could see the future when they threw the bones, but the others? I thought they were just liars.

Why did you choose to believe in what your mother predicted despite how you feel about witches and what they do?

I didn’t know what to think about my mother’s prophecies. At first I worried she had taken too much maiden’s woe. Some people think that flower helps you to see the future, but really it just drives you mad. Later, it seemed as if my mother’s prophecies had come true somehow. I’m beginning to realize that there are a lot of things I don’t know about the world. But if magic really exists, I’m going to have to rethink everything.

At one point it looked like you were going to kill Falpian. What made you change your mind about him?

Goddess take me if I ever figure it out. He’s a spoiled, rich blackhair and I should have killed him on sight. All my life I’ve been taught to hate his people, the Baen. Twenty years ago they came with their black ships and attacked our two port cities, Barbiza and Tandrass. They killed a lot of Witchlanders, my grandfather included.

But I just had a feeling that Falpian wasn’t as bad as all that. First of all, he had a chance to kill me and he didn’t take it. Maybe he’s just a coward, but who knows, maybe there’s some good in everyone, even blackhairs.

Did you always feel the strong need to protect your younger sisters or did you take up that role after your Fa's death?

Fa seemed so ordinary when he was alive, but everything held together then. We were poor but I never wondered where our next meal was coming from. Fa took all that worry on himself. I never gave a moment’s thought to what a heavy load that was for him, and of course that was how he wanted it. When he died, yes, I guess I tried to do what he’d done, tried to take all the worry of our farm on myself so that my two sisters could have a childhood. I just don’t think I succeeded very well. My mother was no help, I can tell you that.

You say that if your father hadn't died you would have left and gone to sea. Did you want to leave because of the witches or were there other reasons?

No, it wasn’t because of the witches. I always knew I wasn’t meant to be a farmer. I suppose a lot of people have a feeling like they’re meant for something more than their lot. And I suppose that feeling often comes to nothing and they end up doing exactly what their father and their grandfather did. I didn’t want to be like that, though. I wanted to get away and see the world. Now that I think back on it, I think it was magic I was really wishing for.

When you first met him, did you ever think you would have the relationship you have with Falpian?

I still don’t believe it now! Honestly, I still have an irrepressible urge to push him into a lake sometimes. Maybe someday I will.

What did it feel like to find out everything you had ever known and believed in was a lie, especially concerning Aata and Aayse?

To be honest, the history of dead witches never meant much to me, so finding out that Aata and Aayse, the witch prophets, weren’t exactly who everyone thought they were? I didn’t care so much at first. In a way, I admire Aata and Aayse more now that I know who they really were. I’m descended from their followers—possibly from Aata or Aayse herself!—and for the first time I’m starting to wonder what that really means. I think my witch heritage is going to be harder to get away from than I thought.

Thank you so much Ryder for answering my questions. It's always nice to know what is going through somebody else's mind, especially when that person went through what we're talking about.

Brenna: Hmm. That's an interesting question. It was very difficult for me before my father died, because he believed in the Goddess and in Aata and Aayse and their prophecies. It's true that everyone in my village believed, but our farm is actually quite far from the village, so I was already isolated. I had a friend named Kef who was also skeptical. Imagine my surprise when he joined the coven!

Wolfluvr420: Now that I know more about the history of witches I am accepting my heritage, and my gifts, more and more. I will always be a skeptic, though--that's in my nature.

Rebecca: I hate to admit it (I mean I REALLY hate to admit it) but Falpian is more open-minded than I am, so I don't think it will be a problem. When you really delve into the history of our people's, you realize that it's true what Aata wrote: All magic is one magic.

acm06: I'm embarrassed now that I ever used that word. It's something my people call the Baen, Falpian's people, because they have black hair and we are blond. I still think many things about the Baen culture are strange, but I don't think they are inherently bad anymore.

I know you said that Falpian can be a pain and there are times you think you'll end up killing him or pushing him into a lake. My question is, what do you do to calm yourself down when it comes to dealing with Falpian? Counting to ten? Thinking about hunting/spells? Imaginating trully pushing him in a lake in your mind? =)

urgirlconnie: When the farm work is done, I love nothing more than to walk in the mountains by myself. I also like to make wooden toys for my littlest sister, Pima.

SpadesHigh: Whenever my sisters made me angry, I knew I had to get out of our small cottage and be by myself. Somehow that doesn’t work with Falpian.

seapotato: I know quite a bit about the history of witches now and it’s not always a history to be proud of. But I’m starting to understand that this is part of myself.

lostnthestacks: I am a practical person, so I know I would need my good knife, tinder and flint (can I count that as one?) and some warm clothing if it’s the chilling time.

Michele: I don’t know if I’d call it spiteful, but I longed to get away. I can see now that putting aside my dreams like that made me bitter.

BURIED IN BOOKS: Good question! Can you believe he would probably say the same things about me?

Small Review: Oh you’re really going to make me say this, aren’t you? All right. Well, Falpian is certainly braver than he looks. He’s smart in a book-taught sort of way (not in a comment sense sort of way, I should add), and, in spite of the things that come out of his mouth sometimes, he can be very thoughtful.

jillk: So many things! I think the fact that he is so rich and spoiled is more annoying than the fact that he is a Baen. He doesn't know how hard it is for most people.

Vivien: Hm. Now that I've met Falpian--and don't tell him this--I wish I'd gotten a better education. I might even learn to read if I get a chance. It might not be as useless a skill as I once thought.

Krystal: I wish he'd stop chattering all the time so I could hear myself think!

NS: I think I'm the last person who would be allowed to start a witch colony, but perhaps there should be one in your world, too.

doreenriopel: I would very much like to go to the world of the Goddess so I could ask her why she made the world as she did. I think she might find me a bit disrespectful, though.

Michelle: I would like to marry an ordinary woman who is not a witch, but I fear that is not my destiny.

Bibliosaurus: You must know the true desires of my heart! I would love to sail beyond the horizon to lands I've never heard of.

Megan: I regret believing my mother when she lied and not believing her when she told the truth. I wish I could speak to her again.

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About Me

I am a avid book reader and I love to give my opinion on books. I read just about anything but mostly I read Young Adult novels. If you were to look for me in a bookstore, go to the teen section and you are likely going to find me.